HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. — Imagine your utility bill jumping hundreds of dollars.
Residents are even more angry and even more irritated after the Holly Springs mayor refused to hear their concerns about high utility bills during a meeting Wednesday night at city hall.
WREG was shown multiple utility bills that jumped hundreds of dollars, one bill we were shown went from $191 to $512 for current charges.
“They are charging the hell out of us for these light bills, so where is the money going? What are they doing with the money,” questioned Holly Springs customer Edna Boyd.
Boyd, 61, is living in a wheelchair with a breathing and suction machine.
She says she can’t afford to pay her utility bill and still survive. She sat in the crowd and listened to Mayor Kelvin Buck announce the that the meeting was strictly budget related.
He spent a few minutes saying the Holly Springs utility issues have been partly due to storms as well as other issues that caused meter reading hiccups.
The mayor also says he’s talking with the top GE officials and everything else regarding bills would be discussed at another special gathering next week.
“We can’t speak in a board meeting. We are the public, and we are supposed to be able to speak whenever they have a meeting. It’s just not right. They’re doing things so wrong and it needs to stop,” said another upset customer Donna Jeffries.
After leaving the budget meeting, a large and angry crowd waited for Mayor Buck outside of City Hall.
We questioned him as he walked out to his SUV.
He told us he would be able to give more clarification to people at next week’s meeting, and he’s doing everything he can.
He said he understands the people’s frustration and that he is frustrated too.
The crowd was chanting, “Get rid of Buck! Get rid of Buck,” as he walked to his SUV.
When asked about the concerns of disabled residents, the mayor said, “If people are disabled and are concerned their lights are going to go out, we usually always work with them. There’s nothing different about that.”
But when we talk with people like Boyd, they say they’re worried and not so sure.
“They lie. All they do is lie,” Boyd said.
Mayor Buck said they’ll have the town hall meeting to discuss the utility bills Monday at 6 p.m. at the Holly Springs Multi Purpose Center.
